Broken (Hunger Games AU)
by pjoislife2002
Summary: After being abandoned by their mother, Katniss and Prim are left to fend for themselves. But when Prim suddenly becomes sick, Katniss finds herself contacting someone she never thought she'd need. Will Katniss be able to fix her broken family?
1. Chapter 1

*Katniss POV*

There were so many emotions running through my mind all at once. I felt broken. Hurt. Confused. Abandoned. Why did things have to be this way? Just when you think you've finally found the light, that you've finally found happiness…only for it to be ripped from your arms. Prim was the only person who truly knew what I was thinking. I told her everything. She was the only person I really loved.

After our mom left, all I had was Prim. All she had was me. I took care of her however I could. I made sure she was fed, that she went to a decent school, that she looked presentable. No one truly knew the struggles we had to face. How hard I had to work to make sure we survived. I would run around town trying to buy things that we needed. If I was desperate, I'd go through the trash cans behind stores for goods and clothe that were in fairly good shape. I made sure to do it when no one was around. It would be embarrassing if someone we knew saw me…

Prim had been sick for a little while. I noticed it during one winter break when her face nearly turned green. Then she experience hot flashes. I would turn my back for one minute and when I came back I would see Prim drenched in sweat, her covers thrown onto the floor. I tried everything I could to help. I fed her soup, gave her lots of cold water to drink, placed damp towels on her forehead, but nothing seemed to work, at least not for long. I tried to take her to the doctor, but they just told me she had caught the flu. I believed them for a little while, until I realized that it hadn't gone away even after using the medicine they gave us.

It began to take a toll on her, causing her already small frame to become even smaller. She wouldn't eat, even when I gave her something as small as a cracker. She would throw up the little food she had eaten. Everything seemed hopeless.

 _Hello? Mom? If you hear this message, please call me back…Prim is sick and I don't know what to do. I really need you, so please don't shut me out._

I left my mom countless voicemails, but she didn't answer. I began to think she really didn't care whether or not we lived or died. Until one afternoon…

 _Rrrrriiiiiinnnnggggg!_

"Katniss! The phone is ringing!" Prim yelled, her voice hoarse. I had been in the basement doing the laundry.

"Okay. I'm coming…" I said as I ran upstairs and grabbed the phone. I was surprised to hear my mother's voice.

"Katniss? Um I-It's me, your mom," she said in a shaky voice. "I'm so sorry I haven't been answering your calls. I just didn't know what to say to you. I'm surprised you would even call me after how I treated you…"

"Believe me, I definitely haven't forgiven you. I mean why should I? You abandoned us! You obviously don't want anything to do with us, but I just thought you'd want to know if Prim was sick."

"I-I understand why you're mad at me. II treated you horribly, but please…can I come see you guys? I need to see Prim." She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Why was she crying? She left us to fend for ourselves with no explanation. One day we woke up and she was gone, all of her things gone.

"Fine. But only on my terms. " I said harshly.

"O-okay that's fine. When can I come?"

"Tomorrow at 10:30 am." I said as I hung up.

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 **Author's Note: Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading my story! I know that this chapter was a little short but that is only because I wanted it to serve as an intro. The next chapters I release will definitely be longer.**

 **~Derinique**


	2. Chapter 2

_DING DONG!_

I rushed to open the door for my mother. She just stood there gazing at the plants by the side of the building until she noticed me standing there.  
"Come in." I said awkwardly. I mean, honestly, how was I supposed to greet the mother who had left us all alone in this house to raise ourselves? It took everything I had not to say something harsh. She had the nerve to try and act like she was _sorry_.

"Oh-I'm sorry, I just got distracted…" she said as she chuckled softly. Her blonde hair was curled and draped over the shoulder of her flower printed dress. She wore a white cardigan over it along with a pair of black flats. She reminded me of Prim with their pale skin, blue eyes and blonde hair, whereas I on the other hand, looked like my father. I had his brown hair and brown eyes, along with olive skin.

She walked into the living room and stared at the pictures of us on the wall, just one big happy family. She held a picture of me holding Prim when we were younger. Prim had on the largest smile I'd ever seen. I looked down at her with a genuine smile on my face. She looked over at another picture, this one of her and my father. He wrapped his large arms around her as she laughed. This was one of their happier times together, before he left her.

Before my father had left, they had fought a lot. Some days I could hear them yelling over bills and other times about silly things like leaving the toilet seat up or about who was gonna cook dinner. I'm not sure what really sent him over the edge. But I know that the love he'd had for my mom had seemed to disappear. As if she was a different person, not the woman he'd fallen in love with.

One day I came home from school to find my mom sobbing on the couch. When I asked my mother what was wrong she'd simply replied "He left," and once she'd said that I knew things really were serious. I realized that our lives were going to change drastically.

After my dad left, my mother became very different, moody and constantly angry. She would never yell at us before, but after my dad left she started to yell at us constantly. She would yell at us if our rooms weren't clean, if we put too much syrup on our pancakes, if we hadn't brushed our hair before bed. She would find ways to take her anger out on us, no matter how stupid. It began to take a toll on Prim and on me. The negative energy in our house made us often feel very gloomy and depressed. Prim would cry herself to sleep at night, hoping and praying that our dad would come back.

Looking back on it, I think this may have been the reason our mom left also. She started to resent us for reminding her of our father, and tried to blame their marital issues on us, claiming we placed stress on them. She couldn't stand to even look at photos of him, so she tried to hide them and even burn some. And after a while she told our dad to stop visiting us, that he was "unwelcome in this household." She would tell us that our dad didn't deserve to see us after causing us so much pain, that he was better off with his new girlfriend, Jessica.

But little did she know, she also helped to contribute to our pain. In fact, she was the biggest source of our pain. Not only did she prevent us from seeing our father after he left, she did the same thing. Except she left us all alone, with no one to care for us, to make sure we were fed and had clothes to wear for school.

I was never sure what had made my mother decide to leave…Was it because of me and Prim? Had she started to resent us? Or did she feel as if her life would be better if she started over, without us, without all of those dark memories? These questions would keep me up late at night, would haunt my dreams. It made me feel insecure…like I wasn't good enough. But then, I realized that she was the one who had made a mistake. She chose to leave behind two independent, strong, young girls. She gave that up, and there was no turning back…

"Why don't we go upstairs so you can see Prim?" I suggested. I led her upstairs as if she were a guest who might get lost.

"I would like that." she replied calmly. She followed behind me until we reached the door to Prim's room, where she lied down on the bed, a towel on her forehead.

"M-Mom," Prim stammered nervously. Our mother stood next to her, reaching for Prim's hand. Despite everything our mom put us through, Prim willingly held her hand. Prim had always been better at forgiving, while it took me a lot longer to trust and forgive people again.

"How are you?" our mom said, tears cascading down her rosy cheeks.

"I'm feeling a little better. But I just feel tired all the time. I feel like I have a never-ending cold." Prim said.

"You'll get better, sweetie, I promise." my mother said, her lips curving into a sad smile.

But some promises you just can't keep…

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 **AN: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I tried to make it a little longer for you guys. Please write reviews and tell me how you feel about the story so far, what you think will happen, what you did/didn't like, etc... Thanks!**

 **~Derinique**


	3. Chapter 3

The next day my mother comes over so that we can take Prim to the doctor's office. Prim and I get dressed, eat breakfast and head outside to get in the car. I sit in the back, next to Prim, holding her small hands in my own.

"What are they gonna do to me?" she asks nervously.

"They're probably just going to run a few tests so they can figure out what's wrong." I say, trying my best to reassure her.

"What kinds of tests?" she asks.

"Er-I'm not exactly sure but I do know that you will be fine."

Another empty promise…

When we finally get there, we unbuckle our seatbelts and head inside. We are greeted by a perky receptionist who gives Prim candy. She starts to ramble on about her daughter Abby and how Prim looks just like her.

After a long and grueling conversation, we all take our seats in the waiting room. I nervously tap my fingers along the armrest on my chair. Prim sits there calmly, reading one of the magazines that were sitting on a table near the front desk.

Suddenly, a woman emerges from a door."Primrose Everdeen?" she calls. The three of us stand up in unison. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my mother's hands shake. It's always been a habit of hers. Whenever she's nervous or scared her hands start shaking uncontrollably. It's funny, the little things you can remember about a person…

The lady leads us to Dr. Grey's room. We are greeted by a lady in a white lab coat with a stethoscope around her neck. Her dark hair is pulled up into a high pony. She smiles at us and shakes our hands.

"Hello, I'm ." she says with a smile." So, your mother told me that you've been having a bad cold. Have you been coughing? Wheezing?"

"Yes. My throat has been very sore and dry recently." Prim answered shyly.

"Does your chest hurt sometimes?"

"Sometimes, right here." Prim placed her hand on the right side of her chest.

"Okay then. I'm just going to do an x-ray on you. Okay?"

Prim nodded as she stood up from the bed and followed the doctor.

When they were out of earshot, I turned to my mother and asked "Are you nervous, mom? You're doing that hand thing." I let out a small chuckle, hoping to lighten up the mood.

"I-I'm okay. Just a little worried." She answered wryly.

"Have you contacted dad? He should know about this…well if it turns out to be something serious." I added. It wasn't fair to him to be left in the dark. Like it or not, Prim is his daughter as well. Also, part of me was looking forward to seeing my father again.

Despite mom telling him not to contact us, he would send Prim and I mail every now and then. Whether that be money, letters, clothes, or food. He would ask us how we've been, what's been going on, how we were doing in school, etc. But, I never told him about what happened with mom. I was planning to but I was a little nervous as to what would happen afterwards. I mean honestly, would he just suddenly swoop back in and be our father again? Would he bring his girlfriend along? Would she try to replace our sorry excuse of a mom? Would it even make a difference?

"I haven't heard from your dad in years…three to be exact." Her eyes were downcast, on the verge of tears. I knew that if I said anything else about him, she'd surely start crying.

After a few minutes, and Prim came back into the room. 's face was more serious this time. Did they find something? Was Prim okay?  
" , can I speak to you alone?" she gestured to the hallway with her thumb and headed out. My mom followed after her, leaving me clueless and more nervous than ever.

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 **AN: I hope you guys liked that cliffhanger! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Also thank you to miku-ceriss for writing reviews. If anyone else has any constructive criticism, suggestions, etc please write a review. That is all.**

 **~Derinique**


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